“Come in tomorrow, we will sign you.”
One thing majority working actors can confirm is that such a phrase will never, ever leave an acting agent’s mouth. Never. Any talent agent
who’s at least remotely interested in you will give you the meeting, at
most. Because learning about your attitude, your credits, what kind of
personality do you have and anything else is part of the deal.
No good agent will sign you on the spot; scam artists will. The following things you hear once you come in are recommendations for their photographer, their workshops, their casting directors and their projects. Stay away from these people they do not deserve your attention.
“Join the seminar and become a working actor!”
No. Don’t join a seminar. Any seminar. Nor a workshop, class, group
or anything else where they openly ask for money in return for information you can easily find in books, articles, free acting handbooks
and websites like the one you’re on now.
All these workshops are run by scam artists that promise their actors the
world: get their headshots in front of acting agents or teach them how to
behave in the meeting, etc. Forget them, you don’t need this. All you
need is a little common sense while your money should be spent on food
and acting classes instead. Avoid at all costs!
“I’m the only one who knows what you need in a headshot.”
There are plenty of photographers out there, starving and struggling in
the big city just like actors are. Some of them are very good, some are
average and others a pretty damn bad. And the “pretty damn bad”
photographers, based on how little business they get, usually take on
another occupation of this business acting scams.
Never trust a photographer who will claim to know for certain what is
best for you. When you go in to get your headshots done, you speak and
discuss ideas and feelings of the end product with the artist. Some of
them will even tell you that they can’t do what you need, and that’s fine that’s honest. Others, though, will go through anything to release you
from your hard earned money.
“Did you ever consider acting?”
Oh, yes, the famous dream of the regular folk (Pamela Anderson-like).
Someone approaching them in a public place, admiring their looks and
charisma, inviting in the business and promising all the stars in the sky.
For anybody who’s been in the entertainment industry for at least 6-12 months, such approach might already seem suspicious, smelling fresh of scam artists. And these people couldn’t be more right: no matter how many stories you hear, this never happens, not even if you look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. Acting is not modeling, nobody can tell you that you can be a star.
“Come see me, I have connections.”
The phrase that is very often used by talent agents’ assistants or casting
office assistants, inviting to their own workshops and seminars. Yes,
that’s true, they have their own business going on the side. Why? It’s
hard to tell, but probably for the money. Do they have anything to offer?
No way in hell.
People doing assistant jobs in any of the agencies have no power and no
connections. They can attach agency’s name to their resume, legally.
But it ends there. They don’t have any connections, they don’t know
people, and even if they do — nobody is going to see you, an actor,
based on casting assistant’s recommendation.
“Sign this, and I’ll manage you into a TV show!”
That’s something that is always flowing around in those personal
managers’ heads who are trying to catch as much fish as they can in the
pool of desperate, unrepresented actors. These scam artists pray on
actors who believe that “manager” is a key role in the business, but the
truth is (yes, you guessed it) — it isn’t! Not a bad manager, at least.
Only well known, good personal managers, who’ve been around for
ages are worth the attention because they know people and have connections. Those without any credits, no phone numbers in their cell
phone and demanding for you to sign a long term contract on the first
day you have met — they are scam artists. Run away, please.
“Become a star this week!”
You’ve read these kinds of things on the Internet. They are all over the
place. Either it’s “lose 15 pounds in a week!” or “get an acting agent
today!” — none of them ring true; they all smell of something that scam
artists have put together.
There are no shortcuts to success (at least not for 99.9% of us without
the last name being Spielberg), but there are shortcuts to failure. There
are also a lot more ways to fail than there are to succeed. Knowing these
ways in order to stay away from them will be one of the things crossed off your “Need to Learn” checklist.
“I will teach you all the subtleties of the great acting.”
Nobody’s trying to be overly cynical around here, but no, they won’t.
Acting teachers who believe to be the “the most knowledgeable teacher” under the blue sky don’t know a first thing about great acting skills. What they definitely do know about is the profession as scam artists, because they usually have a pool of actors training in their classes, and it’s sad.